Team Uncovers How <i>Giardia</i> Infection Causes Gastrointestinal Illnesses

Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) say they have discovered how the Giardia parasite is able to break apart cells in the gut and feed off them. The team reports (“ Giardia Secretome Highlights Secreted Tenascins as a Key Component of Pathogenesis ”) in  GigaScience that the organism produces two main types of protein that enable it to cut through layers of protective mucus in the gut, breaking the links that knit cells together in order to access t